TOPPAN Digital and the Chino Chamber of Commerce and Industry will conduct a demonstration experiment of facial recognition payment service under “Local Pay” until April 30th.
TOPPAN Digital provides “Regional Pay,” a platform that operates local currencies and premium gift certificates issued by local governments, etc., and in this demonstration, it will be used as part of a local currency project being considered by the Chino Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Nagano Prefecture. As a new feature, they have added a facial recognition payment service to “Local Pay.” When shopping at the demonstration store in Chino City, users can make payments using only facial recognition at the cash register, without the need for an app or card. They will verify the usefulness of facial recognition payments in local currency businesses by examining changes in user behavior and operational verification of member stores.
An increasing number of local governments and organizations are considering the introduction of community currency projects as infrastructure for regional development and local residents.
On the other hand, the current mainstream payment method for community currency projects is code payments using smartphones, which is difficult to use for residents who do not have smartphones or are unfamiliar with operating apps.
Paper tickets and cards are used as payment methods other than smartphones, but the risk of loss or unauthorized use is high, and the challenge is to expand payment methods that can be used by more residents and to improve their convenience.
The Chino Chamber of Commerce and Industry is considering introducing a local currency that takes into account payment methods other than smartphones in order to explore the possibility of a future local currency business. They have added a facial recognition payment service as a new payment method and have started a demonstration experiment in collaboration with the Chino Chamber of Commerce and Industry.